This application is related to and claims priority, under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119, from French patent application no. 98/12350 filed in the French Patent Office on Oct. 2, 1998, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the mounting of a connected rod-pin-piston assembly in an internal combustion engine cylinder housing.
2. Discussion of Background
The mounting of connected rod-pin-piston assemblies in engine cylinders is carried out with a press on the engine assembly line. That operation, which simultaneously ensures placement of the pistons in the cylinders and tightening of the piston rings on the pistons, requires precise positioning of those different parts at the entrance to the cylinders before lowering the mounting press.
According to a known method, positioning and guiding elements called xe2x80x9cnecking conesxe2x80x9d are placed at the entrance to the cylinders, which ensure tightening of the pistons on mounting. The arrangement of the necking cones on the cylinder housing, as well as that of the connected rod-pin-piston assemblies in the cylinder housing, cylinder by cylinder, before lowering of the press, are tedious manual operations, which affect the efficiency of the assembly lines.
The diversification of engines assembled on the same manufacturing site has led to a search for greater xe2x80x9cflexibilityxe2x80x9d of production lines, for example, by simplifying the means of assembly or developing tools compatible with different families of engines, with a view to reducing the number of those tools and facilitating their use.
The present invention is aimed at making possible the use of the same equipment for mounting different types of connected rod-pin-piston assemblies, while simplifying the operations necessary.
The present invention proposes for that purpose that each connected rod-pin-piston assembly be gripped by a clamp and lowered by the clamp onto the head surface of the engine and then inserted into a cylinder under the thrust of a jack passing through the central hole of the clamp.
In accordance with the present invention, each clamp ensures tightening of the piston rings.
The clamp preferably has fingers movable radially inwardly in order to grip the connected rod-pin-piston assembly.
The present invention also concerns a device for mounting a connected rod-pin-piston assembly in an internal combustion engine cylinder housing. This device has at least one clamp with several fingers movable radially inwardly in order to grip the piston and simultaneously ensure tightening of the piston rings.